Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The types of coffee There are two main species of bean, arabica and robusta. Both thrive in equatorial regions. Robusta is grown at lower altitudes, 0 to 700 metres, and has a high yield per plant and high caffeine content (1.7 to 4.0%). It accounts for about 30% of world production. Robusta has a stronger flavour than arabica with a full body and a woody aftertaste which is useful in creating blends and especially useful in instant coffee. Robusta is mainly grown in the following regions: Western and Central Africa (Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Uganda, Angola, etc.) Malaysia (Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Java, etc.) Brazil India Arabica grows at higher altitudes, 1000 to 2000 metres, and while it has a lower yield and less caffeine content (0.8 to 1.4%) it is widely recognised to be superior to robusta. Arabica accounts for about 70% of world production, although only about 10% of this yields "grand cru" beans. Arabica has a delicate acidic flavour, a refined aroma and a caramel aftertaste. Arabica is mainly grown in the following regions: Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama) South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina) India Eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique) Papua New Guinea Many of the cheaper blends have a higher proportion of robusta compared to arabica. Some high quality blends use a small quantity of the very best robusta beans to give body and character to the blends, particularly in espresso blends.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
How coffee is made All coffee making starts with the green coffee bean. When the beans are picked they go through a screening process to eliminate those that are not quite ripe or large enough. Machines remove the flesh from the berries to reveal the seeds. Then the seeds go through a fermenting process to remove any material that may still be on them. After this they are washed with liberal amounts of water to remove any remaining residue. Finally, they are dried, sorted and labeled as green coffee beans. The next stage in making coffee is to roast the beans. This is an important part of the process because it influences how the final product will taste. As the beans are roasted they become smaller due to the loss of moisture. The starting temperature should be about 200ºC. During the roasting, the beans begin to caramelize as the heat starts to break down the starches. The oils and acids in the beans start to weaken, which affects the taste. At the same time, other oils start to develop. One of these is caffeol, which is what gives coffee its taste and aroma. After roasting, beans are classified according to their color – light, medium and dark and variants in between. Light roasted beans contain the most caffeine, have a more bitter taste and have a stronger flavor. Dark roasted beans have a more aromatic flavour, have less fiber content and have a sweeter taste. There will still be some chaff among the beans at this stage but air movement over the beans helps to remove most of this. Some of the beans may undergo a decaffination process to produce decaffeinated coffee. The coffee beans are then stored in air tight cool compartments to preserve their taste and sold. They must be ground before being used to brew coffee, and this can be done in a roastery, in a supermarket or even at home. The coffee you usually buy at the supermarket has already been ground by machine. The roasteries buy the roasted beans, grind them them and repackage them under different brand names to be sold in stores.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
History of coffee
According to a coffee history legend, an Arabian shepherd named Kaldi found his goats dancing joyously around a dark green leafed shrub with bright red cherries in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Kaldi soon determined that it was the bright red cherries on the shrub that were causing the peculiar euphoria and after trying the cherries himself, he learned of their powerful effect. The stimulating effect was then exploited by monks at a local monastery to stay awake during extended hours of prayer and distributed to other monasteries around the world. Coffee was born.
Despite the appeal of such a legend, recent botanical evidence suggests a different coffee bean origin. This evidence indicates that the history of the coffee bean beagan on the plateaus of central Ethiopia and somehow must have been brought to Yemen where it was cultivated since the 6th century. Upon introduction of the first coffee houses in Cairo and Mecca coffee became a passion rather than just a stimulant.
According to a coffee history legend, an Arabian shepherd named Kaldi found his goats dancing joyously around a dark green leafed shrub with bright red cherries in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Kaldi soon determined that it was the bright red cherries on the shrub that were causing the peculiar euphoria and after trying the cherries himself, he learned of their powerful effect. The stimulating effect was then exploited by monks at a local monastery to stay awake during extended hours of prayer and distributed to other monasteries around the world. Coffee was born.
Despite the appeal of such a legend, recent botanical evidence suggests a different coffee bean origin. This evidence indicates that the history of the coffee bean beagan on the plateaus of central Ethiopia and somehow must have been brought to Yemen where it was cultivated since the 6th century. Upon introduction of the first coffee houses in Cairo and Mecca coffee became a passion rather than just a stimulant.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
